Delayed deal is better than a botched job

Michael Mayo Commentary

May 3, 2007|Michael Mayo Commentary

TALLAHASSEE — House Speaker Marco Rubio and Senate President Ken Pruitt stepped to their respective podiums simultaneously, at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, to announce they couldn't agree on the one thing everyone agreed was the top priority this session.

No deal on property tax reform.

On to another special session, June 12-22.

Rubio and Pruitt later tried to portray this as a good thing, saying they'd rather get it done right next month than botch the job in the harried final hours of the regular session.

"There was a lot of movement," said Pruitt.

"This is as close as we have been," said Rubio. "I actually think this is our best day."

Puh-lease.

These guys are pretty shameless, trying to sell down as up and failure as success.

The reflex is to ridicule them, but they might be right about one thing: No deal this week is no big deal in the long run, provided they come up with a fair and workable plan in June.

"Complicated stuff deserves time," Gov. Charlie Crist said.

The part that's hard to figure -- and nobody was real up front with specifics -- is how things will be different next time around. Who's going to budge on what?

Even more pressing: How are local governments -- which are supposed to draft budgets and propose tax rates this summer for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 -- going to proceed when they don't even know what the rules will be?

Rubio is still publicly gung-ho about a radical revamping of the tax system, including increasing the sales tax to replace lost property tax revenue.

And the Senate is still gun-shy about doing anything too sweeping, considering the dramatic impact it might have on local governments' ability to function.

Both sides are gambling that an extra month will help bolster their positions with the public. But the public might be fed up with all the talk and no action.

Rubio kept saying on Wednesday that he didn't want to do "a Tallahassee special," a rushed, half-baked package that would end up saving people "18 dollars."

But Rubio's zeal to get a "massive tax cut" that will "target the people who need it most" sounds too rushed for comfort for the upcoming fiscal year. And his definition of people who need relief the most sounds a little too Bushian for me: "The more you pay in taxes the bigger the break you're going to get."

Rubio said elements of the final plan might require Florida voter approval to amend the state constitution. There might be changes to the state sales tax and the property tax code. He said a statewide special election could be held as early as this summer.

Whoa, Marco.

According to state law, there has to be a 90-day notice for a statewide election. That means a plan approved June 22 couldn't be voted on until late September.

Cities and counties hold budget workshops in July. Property tax notices, known as Truth-in-Millage statements, are sent out in August. Public budget hearings are held throughout September.

Once again, how are local governing bodies and citizens supposed to discuss rates and revenues if the new rules won't be known until ballots are counted in late September?

Local governments and property appraisers around the state are probably freaking out about now. The uncertainty means they're going to have to prepare two sets of budget figures, TRIM notices and tax rates.

One for the status quo and one for a new system that might not be finalized until late September.

Of course, the odds are stacked against getting to a special election. It would take a 75 percent majority in the House and the Senate to set a referendum, something the Democratic minority could block.

And if we had that referendum, it would take 66.7 percent voter approval to increase the state sales tax.

Listening to all the Legislative lip-flapping on Wednesday, you'd have thought they already had everything figured out, that their biggest problem was just having time to properly draft and vet the final language.

"I'm not going to do this on the back of a pizza box," Rubio said.

But based on the thin scraps provided, it seems as though these guys still have to knead the dough and bake the pie.

Sounds like a tall order.

Michael Mayo's column runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Read him online every weekday at Sun-Sentinel.com/mayoblog. Reach him at mmayo@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4508.